A U.S. District Court judge says he expects to rule within 30 days on whether to overturn a New Hampshire law banning commercial use of prescription data from doctors.

The outcome could set a precedent for states such as Nebraska, Nevada and Missouri, which have introduced similar bills. IMS Health and Verispan are challenging the law in a potentially precedent-setting case being watched closely by other states considering similar legislation.

New Hampshire authorities say the law aims to protect the privacy of doctors, end inappropriate marketing of drugs to physicians and slash rising health care costs. Opponents say IMS, Verispan and other datamining companies provide crucial info to national research databases and that the law violates First Amendment free-speech protections.

Source: Reuters
The original complaint filed by IMS Health and Verispan (you must have login and a password to the PACER system to view this).[tags]IMS Health, New Hampshire, Patient Privacy, Verispan[/tags]